The Londonderry sifter. (South Londonderry, Vt.) 1883-19??, 1887-01-20
HORSES IN JAPAN.
LARGEST BREEDING FARM IN
THE WORLD.
The Imperial Pasture or Simosn-
a Remarkable Enclosure of
Large Area Containing More
Than 100000 Horses.

is doubtful if there is now, or ever was,
a breeding establishment in any other
country that could equal the great horse
pasture of Simosa, in Japan. Nearly a
thousand years ago the main island Of
the Japanese Empire was about equally
divided between the con9ucring race
and the aborigines. The conquerors
held the southern half and the aborigines
the northern half. One of the reigninS
Tycoons determined upon the conquest
of the aborigines, and he sent large and
well equipped army across the Hakoni
range into the abor ginal territory. After
long war, in which there were many
bloody battles, the aborigincs were de-
feated and driven north. The territory
conquered comprises all the country
around Toxic, the capital, and several
provinces still north of that. Within
the boundaries of this conquest were
what are now called the "Plains OF
Simosa" These plains were found to
be admirably adapted to grazing. They
are about forty miles cast of TOXIC, be-
tween the head of the bay Of Yeddo and
the ocean, and are three hundred or four
hundred feet above the sea level. They
are in fact peninsula table lands. From
these plains q considerable number of
small streams have their source. The
larger part of this surface is covered with
grasses, indigenous to that country,
among which are several kinds of clovers,
bunch grasses and fescue grass. At
intervals there are groves of pines, oaks,
beech and maple trees.
1t was determined to establish there a
pasture where the best cavalry horses
could be bred and in such numbers that
their whole cavalry could be supplied
with fresh mounts at any time. Ordi-
nary Enclosures, and even subdivision
fences, could have been built with little
labor and cost, but ordinary fences would
not have met the requirements. The
Japanese population was then three hun
dred or four hundred miles south of that
point. Two hundred miles north were
the defeated but still unconquered abort
gnes, ready to pounce down upon their
Invaders whenever favorable opportu-
nifty presented. Under these circum-
stances fortified fence was demanded.
To thus inclose peninsula fifty miles by
seventy miles was gigantic work, but
when an absolute authority, with mil
lions of submissive people ready to obey
that authority, determines to do work
the amount of labor involved does not
stand in the way of its accomplishment.
An imperial decree was issued, ordering
each feudal Prince in the Empire to send
a certain number of laborers to build the
Enclosure and to make permanent settle
ments there. All the lands bordering
the streams, susceptible of irrigation,
were allotted to the laborers for homes.
From every province laborers, with their
families, poured in, and in a short time
$50 villages were built along the line OF
the proposed Enclosure. Crops for the
food of these workers were planted, and
the work on the fortified fences began
with impressive ceremonies, BETTING the
Importance of this pre-, ect.
The outer Enclosure was solid earth
embankment, sixteen feet high. 1t was
built to conform to the borders OF the
table lands which on the bay and ocean
sides were very irregular. These irregu-
larities increased the length of the EN-
: ankment, and, as the land along the
streams allotted to the settlers could not
be included in the pasture, this great
embankment had to be run up one side OF
the stream near y to its source and then
back again down the other side. As
there were many of these streams the
amount Of embankment was enormously
increased In book published by the
q Government many years ago the length
OF this outer fortified fence or embank-
ment is stated to BE- five hundred miles.
From two years residence on this table
land, riding every day through various
portions of this old horse pasture, 1 be-
lieve this statement is within the
bounds of truth After this outer EN-
bankment was finished it was sown with
grass called "Hea,' which becomes
more deeply rooted in the soil than any
other known grass. In that case the
roots ran through the whole of the
masses of earth, and have thus held then,
together so firmly that the entertainments
have not perceptibly washed or wealth
cred through ali tho centuries which
have interviewed since their construction.
On the top of this embankment a row oil
trees was planted. This Enclosure formed
very strong defense, and even if an
enemy had stormed and taken it, il
would have been impossible to get the
horses out, except at tie gates, which
were still more strongly fortified, and 6
detachment of mounted troops was sta
toned at each one. At convenient point.
corrals we've built, and these were made
double strong. They were built by throw
ing up embankments twenty five and
even thirty feet high.
In case the aborigines had succeeded
in getting inside the outer embankment
the horses were to have been Jun into
these immense corrals and defended
there. The aborigines never succeeded
in getting into the pasture, and if they
had the corrals would not have beer
needed, for in a few years these horse!
became so wild that the whole Siou,
tribe OF Indians could not have caught
them The work of building the outer
embankment occupied many years, and
the construction of the corrals many